Morning journal and courier., 1887-08-18
A NOTABLE DEMONsTRATION.


munsons From All Over the Country
To the Number of -Four Hundred
Gather and Hear the Family Name
Lauded- The Exercises at CenIer
Church and Historical Address-The
Dinner and TOasts Mt Lincoln Rink
A Gala Day for the Family of Mum
sons.
The quarter millennial reunion of the Mum
son family took place in this city yesterday.
The exercises of the day began in Center
church at II a. m. There were fully $50
members of this large and prosperous family
assembled in the church when Edgar Mum
son of Pennsylvania, the chairman, called
the assembly to order. Previous to this
there was an organ voluntary by the organist
of the church, S. R. Ford of Milford. The
secretary's report was read by Deacon Shell
don Munson, of Tariffville. Prayer was
offered by Rev. Frederick Munson, of
Brooklyn. Hon. Luzerne 1. Munson of
Waterbury, chairman of the committee of
arrangements, then delivered an address of
welcome. He said:
We meet to-day for the first time at family re-
union Two hundred and fifty years ago the first
landed on these shores and made his home in New
was was one Of the foremost in founding the early
New Haven GoloRy In Later w 81 his
and the h war
bis descendants s filed for years many places Of
honor and trust in this town. Until a few years
our family history; recently of our number has
given much time and attention this subject, and
meeting You viii be glad to hear from him and
he will soon relate to you much more fully IN re-
our ancestry was made up of men and women of
whom we may well be proud I bid you cordial
come to the goodly State of Connecticut; To you
dial welcome to this City of Fins, we'll known
throughout the country for its beauty and elegant
this ancient Christian church which has very ap-
prepriately been selected the place of first
reuans Of ~ o me aneso a5ten bn 9 nson
in yonder cemetery stands his headstone. To such
of pleasant memories bid you one and ali cordial
welcome"
c. La Rue Munson of Williamsport, Pa,
made an eloquent response to the welcome
address.
A quartette composed of Mrs Eva Munson
Smith, Miss Emily E. Munson, II. Wilson
Munson and Willard L. Munson rendered in
fine voice the song, 1.-THE Breaking Waves
Dashed High"
The historical address on "The Life, Char
acter and Public Services of Captain Thomas
Munson, with few Glimpses of His Poster
ity," was read by Colonel G. D. Munson of
GAINESVILLE, Ohio. Extracts are as follows:
"This day is the resurrection of the name
and the fame Of our grandsire, Thomas Mum
son. With him at his august beck step
forth, from their shadowy habitations in
JaIa oh
daughters by thousands, smiling and glad,
though serene, to join with voiceless fellow
ship and silent rejoicings in our commemora-
tive and congratulatory festivals.
Sin 1889, at the age of twenty seven,
Thomas became pioneer of New Haven,
then known as Quinnipiac. The settlement
was begun the preceding year. The first
definite date touching Thomas Munson's
history as New Havener is April 8, 1910,
when the court ordered that Brother An
drews and Brother Munson shall view the
grounds of difference betwixt Mr.. Malbon
and Thomas Moulenor, the elder This ap
pointment was complimentary to Brother
Munson as a newcomer and only twenty
eight years of age"
The paper then goes on to relaAe how
Thomas in 1910 bought lot on George
street which he sold eleven years later when
ne was thinking of removing to Delaware
Bay.
In 1866 he bought the lot at the southeast
corner of Elm and Church streets where the
Blue meeting house afterwards stood. Just
below his residence were the habitations of
William Davenport and Governor Eaton.
During the last twenty-one years of his life
his home was in Grove street, in the house
previously owned by Robert Newman. His
neighbors were Andrews, the inn keeper,
Benjamin Linge and Colonel Dixwell, the
regicide. His children were Elizabeth, wife
Of Richard Higginbottom, who removed to
Elizabethtown, N. j., and then to Stamford,
Tuttle. Captain Thomas Monson owned
lands, but his trade was that of carpenter.
With Boykin, he did part of the work on the
first meeting house, and he and Andrews
built the first bridge over the Quinnipiac
river, His enterprising spirit led him to
take deep practical interest in establishing
colony at Delaware Bay.
Munson was appointed by the government
to appraise property. In 1870 he was
member of a colonial committee for this pur-
pose. He was chosen to establish the boun-
daries of towns. In 1874 ''Lieut. Thomas
Munson assisted in establishing the bounds of
Branford and Guilford." In 1875 he was
appointed to see the settlement" in the
plantation of Derby. He was made planta-
ton commissary, lister or assessor, took a
census of the Quinnipiac Indians, ''encour-
aged the erection of a village for the inhabi-
GA2tS Oh stony River ana OOubl tQQ, EdSG
Haven, to resurrect the Hopkins Grammar
school, to consider whether health requires
that burials on the Green should CEASE
In 1851 bell was brought into the harbor,
and "Capt. Thomas Munson was to consider
ye business of We bell.'' At the age of 81 he
was elected to the plantation court, a tribunal
which convened monthly. He was mem-
Der of the first jury, and its foreman. In
1862 and '63 he was elected third man or
substitute deputy for four sessions of the
general court of New Haven colony, and in
1866 was elected deputy to the General AS
sembly. In 1642 he was chosen sergeant of
the trained band. Pixies fourteen feet long
were used by the infantry and half pixies ten
feet long by dragons. The artillery was
also drilled in its use. Every family was to
furnish itself with a coat of canvas tsquilted
with cotton woole" to serve as defence
against Indian arrows. The band included
every male from sixteen to sixty and COM
prised at first four squadrops with four SER
geants. Each man was equipped with gun
and sword. For nineteen years Thomas
Munson Is called sergeant, and very busy
years they must have been with the train
ings, the setting of night watches and at
tending to the guard on days of public meet
ings and to the armed contingent among the
worshippers.
His only son, Samuel, was by trade shoe-
maker. In 1870 he joined with John Moose,
John Brockett, Nathaniel Merriman and
ttwenty-one others of New Haven in the
founding of Wallingford, where he subse-
quently acted as town clerk and recorder
thirty mine years. His son Thomas was four
teen years old at the death of the captain
and was the only grandchild to participate
in the distribution of the captains estate. /
In 1716, when the project of locating Yale col
lege was contemplated, Thomas gave two acres
of land and Theophilus Monson, his brother,
gave another.
Then follows record and detailed history
of the Monson family, its early members and
one Monsons were educated at Yale college
according to the paper. At the close of the |
address the audience joined in singing 80, |
Thou Beneath Whose Guiding Hand" and
after benediction the great gathering dis |